Jointed doll



Nov. 28, 1961 R. K. OSTRANDER JOINTED DOLL 2 Shets-Shet 1 Filed Jan. 17,1958 INVENTOR. QM \W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,010,253 JOINTEDDOLL Robert K. Ostrander, 497 Prospect St., Maplewood, NJ. Filed Jan.17, 1958, Ser. No. 709,677 2 Claims. (Cl. 46-161) This invention relatesto dolls and more especially to jointed dolls.

-It is an object of the invention to provide a jointed doll which iscapable of taking more different positions than any of the dolls of theprior art. More especially, it is an object of the invention to providea fully jointed doll which is capable of taking substantially anyposition which the human body can take.

The invention includes a doll construction having combinations ofpivoted and ball and socket connections providing the wide variety ofadjustments described while at the same time having body and limbcontours which approximate those of a human being. Some features of theinvention relate to the manner in which the parts of the body,particularly the limbs and torso, are held in place by simple andinexpensive connections which are easily assembled.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a doll body made in twoparts connected in such a way that the body can swing in any directionfrom the hips, and can also turn in any direction independently of theswinging movement; and in which the legs are so shaped and connected tothe body, that the doll can cross its legs in realistic fashion.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all the views; w

FIGURE 1 is an assembly view showing a doll made in accordance with thisinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a greatly enlarged sectional view showing the connectionsofthe head and arms to the upper portion of the body of the doll shown inFIGURE 1;

. FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the wrist joint of the doll;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2and showing the joint whereby the arm can be turned;

i located at the torso of the doll.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view through the torso and legconnections, and also showing the ankle joint for one leg;

FIGURE 6 is an end view of one leg taken on the line 6-6'of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a side view of the leg shown in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a front elevation of the lower part of the body;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 10 10 of FIGURE 5;.and

FIGURE 11 is asectional view through one of the elbow joints.

This aPplication is a continuation-in-part of my patent application,Serial No. 640,504, filed February 15, 1957, now abandoned.

. FIGURE 1 shows a doll having a head 11, a body 12, arms 13 and legs14. The body 12 is made of upper part 16 and a pelvis or lower part 17,and these parts are joined together at a ball and socket connection 19This torso joint permits the upper part 16 of the body to swing in anydirection and permits the upper part of the body to turn independentlyof the position into which it swings, as will be more fully explained inconnection with one of the sectional views.

The expression ball and socket joint is used herein to designate a jointin which the bearing surfaces between the two parts have a substantiallycommon center of curvature. These bearing surfaces may be merely zonesof a sphere and they need not be continuous surfaces. The center of thejoint is the center of curvature of the bearing surfaces. 7

The doll has each of its arms joined to the upper part 16 of the body bya ball and socket shoulder joint 2l. Each arm also has an elbow joint 22and a wrist joint 23. Between the shoulder and the elbow, there is arotatable biceps joint 24 which permits the portion of the arm belowthis joint 24 to rotate.

Each of the legs 14 is connected to the lower part 17 of the body by aball and socket leg joint 27. There is a pivoted knee joint 28 in eachleg, and an ankle joint 29 for connecting the foot to the lower end ofthe leg. The construction of all of these joints will be described morefully in connection with the detail views.

The head 14 is preferably made of soft plastic material, such as thevinyl plastic commonly used for high: grade dolls. There is an openingin the lower end of the head which snaps over a flange 32 of an outercap 33 extending up into the head. The peripheral edges of the openingthrough the head contact with an under cap 35 extending downwardly belowthe flange 32. The outer cap 33 and under cap 35 are secured together,preferably by cement, and there is a joining hook 37 extend ingdownwardly from the center of the under cap 35. This joining hook 37 ispreferably made of wire with an upper spiral end 39 clamped between thecaps 33 and 35.

This construction secures the head to the composite cap structure; and abottom surface 42 of the under cap 35 is concave and spherical and bearsagainst a convex surface 44 of a neck ball 46 at the upper end of thedoll body 12. The bearing surfaces 42 and 44 have a common center ofcurvature 48 and thus comprise a ball and socket joint on which the headcan swing and turn in any direction.

The head 11 is held on the body by a joiner 50 which is preferably ahelical spring or other elastic tension element which engages the hook37, at the center of curvature 48 of the ball and socket connection ofthe head of. the body. This joiner 50 has its lower end connected tosome other part of the doll and in the construction illustrated, thejoiner 50 also serves to hold the legs on the doll, as will be explainedin connection with FIGURE 5.

Assembly of the doll is simplified by having the joiner 50 perform morethan one function but for the present it is sufiicient to understandthat the joiner 50 is under tension and that it urges the hook 37downwardly so as to maintain the bearing surfaces 42 and 44 in firmcontact with one another.

In order to prevent the pull or the joiner 50 from biasing the head 14toward a center position, the joiner 50is located so that it extends tothe center of curvature 48 of the head joint, and means areprovided formaintaining the joiner 50 in a center position regardless of theposition to which the head may be moved. In the constructionillustrated, this means comprises an annular vane '64 comes in contactwith the joiner 62.

52 extending inwardly from the sides of the neck ball 46. The centeropening through the annular vane 52 is large enough to receive the upperend of the joiner 50, and as the head 14 swings on the neck ball 46, thehook 37 swings about its connection to the joiner 50 and about thecenter of curvature 48 without changing the tension of the joiner. Thisswing movement of the hook 37 is indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 2.

The angle through which the head 14 can swing is determined by the sizeof the opening in the neck ball through which the hook 37 extends. V I

Each of the arms 13 has a spherical surface 54 at its shoulder end. Thisspherical surface 54 bears against a concave spherical surface 56provided at a shoulder opening of the body. The ball surface 54 andsocket surface 56 have a substantially common center of curvature 58. Across pin 60 is located in the hollow upper end of the 62 at the centerof curvature 8.

The joiner 62 extends through an. opening 64in the upper part of the arm13; and the arm can swing in any direction about the center 58 until theedge of the opening The arm 13 is also free to rotate about the line ofthe joiner 62, and this combined rotary and swinging movement makes theshoulder joint a universal ball and socket connection with the samefreedom of movement as the head on the neck ball, already described.

7 arm 13 and this cross pin 60 is connected with a joiner V the handwill remain in various angular positions and has no bias toward a centerposition. The joiner 87 is under substantial tension so as to maintainenough friction in the ball and socket joint: to hold the hand inselected positions against the force of gravity.

FIGURE 5 shows the torso joint 19 at which the upper part 16 and lowerpart 17 of the doll body are connected together. A ball surface 96 atthe lower end of the upper body part 16 bears against a complementaryspherical socket surface 97 to provide the ball and socket joint 19. Theparts 16 and 17 are held together under moderate pressure by the joiner50 extending downwardly throught the center of curvature of the ball andsocket surfaces 96 and 97. There is an annular centering vane 99 forkeeping the joiner 50 in position Where it passes through the center ofcurvature of the ball and socket surfaces 96 and 97 and for causing thejoiner 50 to flex about this center of curvature as the parts 16 and 17of the body swing about this vane center. This construction prevents anoff-center pull which would give this torso joint 19 a bias toward itscenter position.

The joiner 50 extends downwardly through an opening 102 at the bottom'ofthe upper body part 16. The lower end of the joiner 50 is connected by ahook 104 to a section of strong gum rubber tubing 105. There 7 are otherhooks 10.6 and 107, which are ofsimilar con- Rotary movement of the armabout its own length is 7' obtained by the rotatable biceps joint 24.This joint 24 is formed by bayonet-type flexible fins 70 connected to alower portion of the arm and inserted into an opening in the upper partof the arm where hooked ends of the fins 70 snap over a shoulder 75formed on the inner wall of the upper part of the arm. This connectionholdsthe parts of'the arm in assembled relation but permits the lowerpart of the arm to rotate with respect to the upper part about an axisextending lengthwise of the arm. The flexible fins 70 are integrallyconnected with the lower portion of the arm 13 and preferably, thoughnot necessarily,

' of one-piece construction with the part of the arm to which they are,connected. These fins 70 have sufficient resilience to bend inwardly farenough to pass the shoulder 75 and then snap outwardly behind theshoulder- The elbow joint will be described in detail in connectionwith'FIGURE '11 after the knee joints have been dea pin 88 located inthearm. This pin may be a stud molded to one-half of the forearm. Thejoiner 87 is preferably an endless band which is placed over the pin 88'before the two halves of the forearm are cemented together along a seam89.

- At its lower end, the joiner. 87 extends around a hook.

92 which is secured to the hand 86 either by molding the hand around thelower end of the hook 92, or by inserting the hook into an opening inthehand with a press fit to lock it. e

' The diameter of the ball section 78 is slightly larger than the lowerportion of the forearm with which 'it merges, and this increasessomewhat the angle through which the, hand 86 can move with respect tothe forearm. The joiner 87 passes around the hook 92 at a location whichis substantiallycoincident with thecenter of curvature of the ballsection 78 and the spherical bearing surface 80. This permits the hand86 to move angularly about the center of rotation of the ball and socketjoint without changing the tension of the joiner 87. In this waystruction to the hook 104, and which are'also connected to. the sectionof tubing 105. These hooks 106 and 107 connect the right and left legs,respectively, to the '14 has a spherically shaped surface 108 whichbears against a socket opening 109in the lower portion 17 of the dollbody. This spherically shaped surface 108 is off-set inwardly from thethigh portion of the leg so as to provide a substantial angular movementof the leg before the thigh portion strikes against thebody of the dollat the bottom of the socket 109.v The amount of this angular movement isfurther increased by the shape of the pelvis 17 with the sockets 109 ata substantial angle to the vertical and with a relatively short sectionof the body portion between them at the lower ends of the sockets 109.

In the preferred construction, the lower part of the spherically "shapedsurface 109 merges with the thigh portion of the leg at a substantialright angle to the thigh portion, and preferably at an angle which is anacute angle slightly less than a right angle. This also facilitates theinward swinging of the legs for crossing.

Another feature which further facilitates the crossing of the legs isthe forward slope of; the sockets-109.

from opposite sides of the legs and preferably of one-- piececonstruction with the leg as best shown in FIG- URE 6. The bosses 111are preferably made long enough so that only a relatively small lengthof the pin 110 is exposed and any sliding of the hook 106 lengthwisealong the pin 110 does not displace the hook very far from the centerofcurvature of the spherically shaped surface 108. This makesv itunnecessary to provide a depression in the pin ,110.or ,to, have the pinotherwise of special construction forcentering the hook 106.

The. hook 107 is similarly connected with the other leg 14;' and thehooks 104,106 and 107 are of such] length that they put the section oftubing 105 under substantial tension when the doll is assembled. Thisprovides a suflicient pressure between the surfaces 108 and 109 toobtain friction for holding the legs in various set positions; and thesection of rubber tubing 105 provides this necessary pressure withoutrequiring as much space as would be required for a spring. The hooks 106and 107 are substantially in line with one another, and they cooperatewith the hook 104 to pull the section of tubing 105 into a triangularshape with the base of the triangle substantially in line with the hooks106 and 107. If desired, a spring can be used for connecting the legs 14to the body.

FIGURES 7 and 8 show the knee joint 28. This is a pivoted joint. Thethigh portion of the leg 14 has a groove 112 at its lower end withstraight and parallel side walls 113 and 114. A metal connection frameor liner 120 fits into the groove 112. This liner is of spring metal andit has lugs 122 which snap into recesses 124 in the side walls of thegroove 112. This holds the metal liner in assembled relation with thethigh portion of the leg and the sides of the liner 120 are in contactwith the sides of the groove 112.

An axle 128, preferably a rivet, extends through a tongue 130 formed atthe upper end of the lower part of the leg 14. The groove 112 is closedat the front (left side in FIGURE 7) and the inside surface of theclosed front of the groove, together with the surface at the top of thegroove 112 are curved about a center of curvature which coincides withthe axis of the rivet or axle 128.

The tongue 130 fills the space between the sides of the liner 120, andthe rivet or axle 128 holds the sides of the liner 120 in contact withthe sides of the tongue 130 with suflicient pressure to provide frictionfor holding the knee joint of the doll in any set angular position.

In the original assembly of the doll, the liner 120 is first spread andfitted over the tongue 130 so as to bring openings in the liner 120 intoregister with the opening provided in the tongue for the axle 128. Theaxle is then inserted through the openings in the liner 120 and throughthe opening in the tongue 130. One end of the axle 128 is preferablyprovided with a head before assembly, and the other end of the axle isthen peened or riveted to provide a head at the opposite end of the axleso that it is permanently connected with the liner 120 and the tongue130.

The liner 120, after being thus attached to the lower pant of the leg,is pushed upwardly into the groove 112 and the side walls of the grooveare sprung apart slightly until the lugs 122 pass the recesses 124. Theside walls of the groove 118 then snap back into contact with the sidesof the liner 120 and the knee joint is assembled. In order to preventtheliner 120 from being visible, the side walls of the groove 118 aremade with recesses 134 for receiving the liner 120, and there is only arunning clearance between the sides of the tongue 130 and the side walls113 and 114 of the groove 118 ahead of and behind the liner 120.

FIGURES 5, 7 and 10 show one of the ankle joints 29. The lower end ofthe leg 14 extends into a socket in a foot 138. This portion of the legwhich extends into the foot is formed as a tongue 140 with substantiallystraight and parallel side walls and a cylindrical bottom wall throughwhich there is an opening 142. The socket in the foot 138, into whichthe tongue 142 extends, has substantially flat and parallel side wallsconfronting the sides of the tongue but with running clearance. Anarcuate rib 144 extends across the inside of the foot 138 and forms abottom for the socket into which the tongue 142 extends. This rib 144 ispreferably molded as one piece with the upper portion of the foot and ithas a radius of curvature substantially equal to that of the bottom faceof the tongue 142.

The foot 138 is secured to the leg 14 by a hook 146 extending around therib 144 through the opening 142 in the bottom of the tongue 140 and thenupwardly to a joiner 148. There is a recess 150 in the bottom face ofthe rib 144 for preventing movement of the hook 146 along the rib 144.

The joiner 148 is preferably an endless elastic band which passes arounda pin 152 located in the calf of the leg 14. As in the case of theconnection of the hand to the arm, this pin 152 is preferably molded asone piece with a portion of the leg, and the joiner 148 is placed overthe pin 152 before the opposite halves of the leg are cemented togetheralong a seam 154.

The location at which the hook 146 engages the joiner 148 can be at thecenter of curvature of the rib 144; but this is not necessary in thecase of the ankle joint because the pin 152 is far enough above the foot132 so that there is very little angular movement of the joiner 148 asthe foot 138 swings from one extreme to the other of its movement.Therefore there is not sufiicient change in tension of the joiner 148 togive the foot 138 a bias toward a mid position. The tension of thejoiner 148 is suflicient to provide friction between the tongue 142 andthe rib 144 for holding the foot in any set position.

FIGURE 11 shows the construction of one of the elbow joints 22. Thisconstruction is somewhat similar to the knee joint. A metal liner isconnected to the forearm by an axle 162 at the center of curvature of acylindrical surface 164 on a tongue 166 at the upper end of the forearm.This tongue 166 fits into the upper portion of the arm and is held thereby lugs 168 struck from the resilient metal of the liner 160 in positionto engage behind shoulders 170 on opposite sides of the upper portion ofthe arm.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 11, the limit to which the liner 160can be inserted into the upper portion of the arm is determined by a fin172 extending inwardly across the upper end of the liner 160. This fin172 is preferably molded as one piece with one half of the arm, thehalves being cemented together along a seam 174 before the forearm andits liner 160 are inserted into the upper portion of the arm.

The preferred construction of the doll has been illustrated anddescribed, but changes and modification can be made and some featurescan be used in different combinations without departing from theinvention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A jointed doll including legs, a knee joint in each leg, a bodyhaving a pelvis with circular openings therein for receiving the upperends of the legs, each of the legs having a thigh portion with thesurface of the upper end of said thigh pontion spherical and of largerdiameter than the leg-receiving openings in the pelvis, and resilientmeans connecting each leg to the pelvis, said spherical upper ends ofthe thighs which are outside of the openings in the body and at thebottom of the openings when the doll is in standing position, extendinginwardly for a substantial distance beyond the inner side of the thighthat confronts the other thigh of the doll and far enough beyond theopenings in the pelvis to permit the legs to swing inwardly to aposition where one thigh crosses the other, and the leg-receivingopenings in the pelvis facing partly forward so that projections of thelongitudinal axes of said openings on a horizontal plane through thedoll, when the doll is standing upright, make an obtuse angle with oneanother to facilitate crossing of the legs of the doll when the doll isin a sit-ting position.

r 2. The jointed doll desctibed in claim 1 andin which the sphericalupper end portion of each leg has the lower part of its surface meet theinner side of the at an angle not substantially greaterthan a rightangle.

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS130,068 Parent July 30, 1872 1,34 ,953 7 Gould July 20, 1920 2,129,421Hales Sept. 6, 193:;

Graves May 1, 19

Senior et a1. Sept. 30, 1952 Cleaver Aug. 31, 1954 Gardel-et a1. Mar. 5,1957 Garde] et a1. May 7, 1957 Cohn Sept. 3, 1957 Cohn Feb. 23, 196 0FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 5, 1954

